U.S. patent number 11,139,878 [Application Number 16/643,062] was granted by the patent office on 2021-10-05 for group based beam reporting and channel state information reference signal configuration in new radio systems.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Apple Inc.. The grantee listed for this patent is Apple Inc.. Invention is credited to Alexei Davydov, Guotong Wang, Yushu Zhang.
United States Patent |
11,139,878 |
Wang , et al. |
October 5, 2021 |
Group based beam reporting and channel state information reference
signal configuration in new radio systems
Abstract
Embodiments of the present disclosure describe methods and
apparatuses for group based beam reporting and channel state
information reference signal configuration in new radio
systems.
Inventors: |
Wang; Guotong (Beijing,
CN), Zhang; Yushu (Beijing, CN), Davydov;
Alexei (Nizhny Novgorod, RU) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Apple Inc. |
Cupertino |
CA |
US |
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Assignee: |
Apple Inc. (Cupertino,
CA)
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Family
ID: |
65633510 |
Appl.
No.: |
16/643,062 |
Filed: |
September 10, 2018 |
PCT
Filed: |
September 10, 2018 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/CN2018/104862 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
February 28, 2020 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO2019/047953 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
March 14, 2019 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20200336188 A1 |
Oct 22, 2020 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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PCT/CN2017/101036 |
Sep 8, 2017 |
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PCT/CN2017/102023 |
Sep 18, 2017 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04B
7/088 (20130101); H04B 7/0404 (20130101); H04B
7/0615 (20130101); H04B 7/0632 (20130101); H04B
7/0408 (20130101); H04B 7/0628 (20130101); H04W
16/28 (20130101); H04B 7/0695 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04K
1/10 (20060101); H04B 7/08 (20060101); H04B
7/0404 (20170101); H04B 7/06 (20060101); H04L
27/28 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;375/260,346,267,299,347 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2945414 |
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Nov 2015 |
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EP |
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WO 2017053007 |
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Mar 2017 |
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WO |
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Other References
China Unicom, "Discussion on group based beam reporting", 3GPP TSG
RAN WG1 NR Ad-Hoc#2. R1-1711336, Jun. 30, 2017, four pages. cited
by applicant .
Intel Corporation, "On Beam State Reporting", 3GPP TSG-RAN WG1 #88,
R1-1702197, Feb. 17, 2017, six pages. cited by applicant .
Nokia et al., "On beam grouping and reporting", 3GPP TSG-RAN WG1
Meeting #89, R1-1708907, May 19, 2017, 12 pages. cited by applicant
.
Extended European Search Report for European Application No.
18853554.6, dated Apr. 7, 2021, 11 pgs. cited by applicant .
Lenovo et al.: "DL beam measurement and reporting", 3GPP Draft;
R1-1712671_Beam_Report, 3RD Generation Partnership Project (3GPP),
Mobile Competence Centre; 650, Route Des Lucioles; F-06921
Sophia-Antipolis Cedex; France, vol. RAN WG1, No. Prague, PR.
Czech; Aug. 21, 2017-Aug. 25, 2017, Aug. 20, 2017 (Aug. 20, 2017),
5 pgs. cited by applicant .
SAMSUNG: "Remaining details on QCL assumptions for DMRS antenna
ports", 3GPP Draft; R1-1707913-FECOMP QCL SAM, 3RD Generation
Partnership Project (3GPP), Mobile Competence Centre 350, Route Des
Lucioles; F-06921 Sophia-Antipolis Cedex; France, vol. Ran WG1, No.
Hangzhou, China; May 15, 2017-May 19, 2017, May 14, 2017 (May 14,
2017), 1 pg. cited by applicant .
Nokia et al.: "Summary of offline QCL discussion", 3GPP Draft;
R1-1715293, 3RD Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), Mobile
Competence Centre; 650, Route Des Lucioles; F-06921
Sophia-Antipolis Cedex; France, vol. RAN WG1, No. Prague, Czech
Republic; Aug. 21, 2017-Aug. 25, 2017, Aug. 26, 2017 (Aug. 26,
2017), 3 pgs. cited by applicant.
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Primary Examiner: Phu; Phuong
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Kowert, Hood, Munyon, Rankin &
Goetzel, P.C.
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. An apparatus, comprising: a radio frequency (RF) interface; and
a processor in communication with the RF interface, wherein the
processor is configured to: receive, from a base station, an
indication whether group-based beam reporting is indicated, wherein
group-based beam reporting includes reporting multiple downlink
beams that can be received simultaneously, wherein respective beams
of the multiple downlink beams are associated with synchronization
signal blocks (SSBs); and generate report information for downlink
transmission beams according to the indication, wherein, when
group-based beam reporting is indicated, the report information
includes indices and layer 1 reference signal received power
(L1-RSRP) information for the multiple downlink beams that can be
received simultaneously, and wherein, for non-group based
reporting, the report information includes L1-RSRP information of a
plurality of downlink transmission beams for channel state
information-reference signals (CSI-RSs) quasi-collocated with
different SSB beams.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a relationship between two
reporting instances is indicated by the apparatus and includes
whether the downlink transmission beams reported at different
reporting instances can be received simultaneously by the
apparatus.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the report information further
includes indices and L1-RSRP information for the CSI-RSs.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein group information is reported
together with RSRP information.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein different beams of the
multiple downlink beams are simultaneously received by different UE
antenna panels.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a one-bit indicator is used to
indicate whether the downlink transmission beams reported at
different reporting instances can be received simultaneously by the
UE.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, for non-group based
reporting, a relationship between two reporting instances is
pre-defined or configured by higher layer signaling or downlink
control information (DCI) or reported by the apparatus with an
explicit indicator.
8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further
configured to: split uplink transmission beams into different
groups; generate uplink transmission beams together with group
information for a transmit signal path; and send the generated
uplink transmission beams to the RF interface.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the group information is based
on a UE antenna panel or an antenna port for simultaneous
transmission.
10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein, for non-group based
operation, the processor is further configured to: select uplink
transmission beams based on at least one of: a sounding reference
signal resource indicator (SRI); an indicator or an index; or an
index.
11. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein there are two downlink beams
reported in group-based beam reporting, wherein each of the two
downlink beams is received on a different one of the UE antennas
panels.
12. A user equipment (UE), comprising: at least one antenna; a
radio frequency (RF) interface in communication with the at least
one antenna; and a processor in in communication with the RF
interface, wherein the processor is configured to cause the UE to:
receive, from a base station, an indication whether group-based
beam reporting is indicated, wherein group-based beam reporting
includes reporting multiple downlink beams that can be received
simultaneously; and generate report information for downlink
transmission beams according to the indication, wherein, when
group-based beam reporting is indicated, the report information
includes indices and layer 1 reference signal received power
(L1-RSRP) information of the multiple downlink beams that can be
received simultaneously, and wherein, for non-group based
reporting, the report information includes L1_RSRP information of a
plurality of transmission beams for channel state
information-reference signals (CSI-RSs) quasi-collocated with
respective beams associated with synchronization signal blocks
(SSBs).
13. The UE of claim 12, wherein a relationship between two
reporting instances is indicated by the UE and includes whether the
downlink transmission beams reported at different reporting
instances can be received simultaneously by the UE.
14. The UE of claim 12, wherein the report information further
includes indices and L1-RSRP information for the CSI-RSs.
15. The UE of claim 12, wherein different beams of the multiple
downlink beams are simultaneously received by different UE antenna
panels.
16. The UE of claim 15, wherein there are two downlink beams
reported in group-based beam reporting, wherein each of the two
downlink beams is received on a different one of the UE antennas
panels.
17. An apparatus, comprising: a memory interface; and a processor
in communication with the memory, wherein the processor is
configured to: transmit, to a user equipment device (UE), an
indication whether group-based beam reporting is indicated, wherein
group-based beam reporting includes reporting multiple downlink
beams that can be received simultaneously; and receive, from the
UE, report information for the multiple downlink beams according to
the indication, wherein, when group-based beam reporting is
indicated, the report information includes indices and layer 1
reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) information of the
multiple downlink beams that can be received simultaneously, and
wherein, for non-group based reporting, the report information
includes L1_RSRP information of a plurality of transmission beams
for channel state information-reference signals (CSI-RSs)
quasi-collocated with respective beams associated with
synchronization signal blocks (SSBs).
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein different beams of the
multiple downlink beams are simultaneously received by different UE
antenna panels.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein there are two downlink beams
reported in group-based beam reporting, wherein each of the two
downlink beams is received on a different one of the UE antennas
panels.
20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein, for non-group based
reporting, a relationship between two reporting instances is
pre-defined or configured by higher layer signaling or downlink
control information (DCI) or reported by the UE with an explicit
indicator.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION
This application is the U.S. National Stage of International
Application No. PCT/CN2018/104862 filed on Sep. 10, 2018, which
claims priority to PCT Application Number PCT/CN2017/101036 filed
Sep. 8, 2017 and PCT Application Number PCT/CN2017/102023 filed
Sep. 18, 2017. The specifications of said applications are hereby
incorporated by reference in their entirety.
FIELD
Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field
of networks, and more particularly, to apparatuses, systems, and
methods for control signaling for beam management in cellular
networks.
BACKGROUND
Beamforming may be used at both the next Generation Node B ("gNB")
side and the user equipment ("UE") side in a fifth generation (5G)
new radio system. Beam management may be performed in both downlink
and uplink to maintain the gNB/UE beams for communication.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 depicts an architecture of a system of a network in
accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 2 depicts example components of a device in accordance with
some embodiments
FIG. 3 depicts example interfaces of baseband circuitry in
accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 4 is an illustration of a control plane protocol stack in
accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 5 is an illustration of a user plane protocol stack in
accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram illustrating components, according
to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from a
machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a
non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one
or more of the methodologies discussed herein.
FIG. 7 illustrates wireless communication between a
transmission/reception point ("TRP") and a user equipment ("UE") in
accordance with various embodiments.
FIG. 8 depicts an example of a next generation node (gNB)
transmitter beam group, in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 9 depicts an example of a synchronization signal (SS) Block
beam and Channel State Information-Reference signal (CSI-RS) beam,
in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 10 depicts an example of energy per resource element (EPRE)
setting for channel state information (CSI)-reference signal (RS)
in accordance with some embodiments.
FIG. 11 depicts a process performed by the electronic device of
FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and/or FIG. 6.
FIG. 12 depicts a process performed by the electronic device of
FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and/or FIG. 6.
FIG. 13 depicts a process performed by the electronic device of
FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and/or FIG. 6.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the
accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof wherein like
numerals designate like parts throughout, and in which is shown by
way of illustration embodiments that may be practiced. It is to be
understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or
logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the
present disclosure.
Various operations may be described as multiple discrete actions or
operations in turn, in a manner that is most helpful in
understanding the claimed subject matter. However, the order of
description should not be construed as to imply that these
operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these
operations may not be performed in the order of presentation.
Operations described may be performed in a different order than the
described embodiment. Various additional operations may be
performed or described operations may be omitted in additional
embodiments.
For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrases "A or B,"
"A and/or B," and "A/B" mean (A), (B), or (A and B).
The description may use the phrases "in an embodiment," or "in
embodiments," which may each refer to one or more of the same or
different embodiments. Furthermore, the terms "comprising,"
"including," "having," and the like, as used with respect to
embodiments of the present disclosure, are synonymous.
FIG. 1 illustrates an architecture of a system 100 of a network in
accordance with some embodiments. The system 100 is shown to
include a user equipment (UE) 101 and a UE 102. The UEs 101 and 102
are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile
computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks),
but may also comprise any mobile or non-mobile computing device,
such as Personal Data Assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptop computers,
desktop computers, wireless handsets, or any computing device
including a wireless communications interface.
In some embodiments, any of the UEs 101 and 102 can comprise an
Internet of Things (IoT) UE, which can comprise a network access
layer designed for low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived
UE connections. An IoT UE can utilize technologies such as
machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communications (MTC) for
exchanging data with an MTC server or device via a public land
mobile network (PLMN), Proximity-Based Service (ProSe) or
device-to-device (D2D) communication, sensor networks, or IoT
networks. The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be a
machine-initiated exchange of data. An IoT network describes
interconnecting IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable
embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure),
with short-lived connections. The IoT UEs may execute background
applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to
facilitate the connections of the IoT network.
The UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to connect, e.g.,
communicatively couple, with a radio access network (RAN) 110--the
RAN 110 may be, for example, an Evolved Universal Mobile
Telecommunications System (E-UMTS), an Evolved Universal
Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN),
or some other type of RAN. The UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections
103 and 104, respectively, each of which comprises a physical
communications interface or layer (discussed in further detail
below); in this example, the connections 103 and 104 are
illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling,
and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols, such
as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, a
code-division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, a
Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT over Cellular (POC) protocol, a
Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, a 3GPP
Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a fifth generation (5G)
protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, and the like.
In this embodiment, the UEs 101 and 102 may further directly
exchange communication data via a ProSe interface 105. The ProSe
interface 105 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink
interface comprising one or more logical channels, including but
not limited to a Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a
Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink
Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a Physical Sidelink Broadcast
Channel (PSBCH).
The UE 102 is shown to be configured to access an access point (AP)
106 via connection 107. The connection 107 can comprise a local
wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE
802.11 protocol, wherein the AP 106 would comprise a wireless
fidelity (WiFi.RTM.) router. In this example, the AP 106 is shown
to be connected to the Internet without connecting to the core
network of the wireless system (described in further detail
below).
The RAN 110 can include one or more access nodes that enable the
connections 103 and 104. These access nodes (ANs) can be referred
to as base stations (BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next
Generation NodeBs (gNB), RAN nodes, and so forth, and can comprise
ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite
stations providing coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a
cell). The RAN 110 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing
macrocells, e.g., macro RAN node 111, and one or more RAN nodes for
providing femtocells or picocells (e.g., cells having smaller
coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared
to macrocells), e.g., low power (LP) RAN node 112.
Any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 can terminate the air interface
protocol and can be the first point of contact for the UEs 101 and
102. In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 can
fulfill various logical functions for the RAN 110 including, but
not limited to, radio network controller (RNC) functions such as
radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource
management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.
In accordance with some embodiments, the UEs 101 and 102 can be
configured to communicate using Orthogonal Frequency-Division
Multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with each other or with
any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 over a multicarrier communication
channel in accordance various communication techniques, such as,
but not limited to, an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple
Access (OFDMA) communication technique (e.g., for downlink
communications) or a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple
Access (SC-FDMA) communication technique (e.g., for uplink and
ProSe or sidelink communications), although the scope of the
embodiments is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signals can
comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.
In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for
downlink transmissions from any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 to the
UEs 101 and 102, while uplink transmissions can utilize similar
techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, called a
resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which is the
physical resource in the downlink in each slot. Such a
time-frequency plane representation is a common practice for OFDM
systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resource allocation.
Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to one
OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of
the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a
radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is
denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid comprises a
number of resource blocks, which describe the mapping of certain
physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block
comprises a collection of resource elements; in the frequency
domain, this may represent the smallest quantity of resources that
currently can be allocated. There are several different physical
downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks.
The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) may carry user data
and higher-layer signaling to the UEs 101 and 102. The physical
downlink control channel (PDCCH) may carry information about the
transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH
channel, among other things. It may also inform the UEs 101 and 102
about the transport format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid
Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared
channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and
shared channel resource blocks to the UE 102 within a cell) may be
performed at any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 based on channel
quality information fed back from any of the UEs 101 and 102. The
downlink resource assignment information may be sent on the PDCCH
used for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UEs 101 and 102.
The PDCCH may use control channel elements (CCEs) to convey the
control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the
PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into
quadruplets, which may then be permuted using a sub-block
interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using
one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE may correspond to nine
sets of four physical resource elements known as resource element
groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols
may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using one
or more CCEs, depending on the size of the downlink control
information (DCI) and the channel condition. There can be four or
more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers
of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).
Some embodiments may use concepts for resource allocation for
control channel information that are an extension of the
above-described concepts. For example, some embodiments may utilize
an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses
PDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH
may be transmitted using one or more enhanced the control channel
elements (ECCEs). Similar to above, each ECCE may correspond to
nine sets of four physical resource elements known as an enhanced
resource element groups (EREGs). An ECCE may have other numbers of
EREGs in some situations.
The RAN 110 is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core
network (CN) 120--via an S1 interface 113. In embodiments, the CN
120 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a NextGen Packet
Core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN. In this embodiment
the S1 interface 113 is split into two parts: the S1-U interface
114, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes 111 and 112
and the serving gateway (S-GW) 122, and the S1-mobility management
entity (MME) interface 115, which is a signaling interface between
the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and MMEs 121.
In this embodiment, the CN 120 comprises the MMEs 121, the S-GW
122, the Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 123, and a home
subscriber server (HSS) 124. The MMEs 121 may be similar in
function to the control plane of legacy Serving General Packet
Radio Service (GPRS) Support Nodes (SGSN). The MMEs 121 may manage
mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking
area list management. The HSS 124 may comprise a database for
network users, including subscription-related information to
support the network entities' handling of communication sessions.
The CN 120 may comprise one or several HSSs 124, depending on the
number of mobile subscribers, on the capacity of the equipment, on
the organization of the network, etc. For example, the HSS 124 can
provide support for routing/roaming, authentication, authorization,
naming/addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc.
The S-GW 122 may terminate the S1 interface 113 towards the RAN
110, and routes data packets between the RAN 110 and the CN 120. In
addition, the S-GW 122 may be a local mobility anchor point for
inter-RAN node handovers and also may provide an anchor for
inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful
intercept, charging, and some policy enforcement.
The P-GW 123 may terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN. The P-GW
123 may route data packets between the EPC network 123 and external
networks such as a network including the application server 130
(alternatively referred to as application function (AF)) via an
Internet Protocol (IP) interface 125. Generally, the application
server 130 may be an element offering applications that use IP
bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS Packet Services
(PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). In this embodiment, the
P-GW 123 is shown to be communicatively coupled to an application
server 130 via an IP communications interface 125. The application
server 130 can also be configured to support one or more
communication services (e.g., Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP)
sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social
networking services, etc.) for the UEs 101 and 102 via the CN
120.
The P-GW 123 may further be a node for policy enforcement and
charging data collection. Policy and Charging Enforcement Function
(PCRF) 126 is the policy and charging control element of the CN
120. In a non-roaming scenario, there may be a single PCRF in the
Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with a UE's
Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In
a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there may be two
PCRFs associated with a UE's IP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF)
within a HPLMN and a Visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within a Visited Public
Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF 126 may be communicatively
coupled to the application server 130 via the P-GW 123. The
application server 130 may signal the PCRF 126 to indicate a new
service flow and select the appropriate Quality of Service (QoS)
and charging parameters. The PCRF 126 may provision this rule into
a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) with
the appropriate traffic flow template (TFT) and QoS class of
identifier (QCI), which commences the QoS and charging as specified
by the application server 130.
FIG. 2 illustrates example components of a device 200 in accordance
with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the device 200 may
include application circuitry 202, baseband circuitry 204, Radio
Frequency (RF) circuitry 206, front-end module (FEM) circuitry 208,
one or more antennas 210, and power management circuitry (PMC) 212
coupled together at least as shown. The components of the
illustrated device 200 may be included in a UE or a RAN node. In
some embodiments, the device 200 may include less elements (e.g., a
RAN node may not utilize application circuitry 202, and instead
include a processor/controller to process IP data received from an
EPC). In some embodiments, the device 200 may include additional
elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera,
sensor, or input/output (I/O) interface. In other embodiments, the
components described below may be included in more than one device
(e.g., said circuitries may be separately included in more than one
device for Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementations).
The application circuitry 202 may include one or more application
processors. For example, the application circuitry 202 may include
circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or
multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination
of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g.,
graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors
may be coupled with or may include memory/storage and may be
configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to
enable various applications or operating systems to run on the
device 200. In some embodiments, processors of application
circuitry 202 may process IP data packets received from an EPC.
The baseband circuitry 204 may include circuitry such as, but not
limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The
baseband circuitry 204 may include one or more baseband processors
or control logic to process baseband signals received from a
receive signal path of the RF circuitry 206 and to generate
baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry
206. Baseband processing circuity 204 may interface with the
application circuitry 202 for generation and processing of the
baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry
206. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204
may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor 204A, a
fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 204B, a fifth generation
(5G) baseband processor 204C, or other baseband processor(s) 204D
for other existing generations, generations in development or to be
developed in the future (e.g., second generation (2G), sixth
generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 204 (e.g., one or
more of baseband processors 204A-D) may handle various radio
control functions that enable communication with one or more radio
networks via the RF circuitry 206. In other embodiments, some or
all of the functionality of baseband processors 204A-D may be
included in modules stored in the memory 204G and executed via a
Central Processing Unit (CPU) 204E. The radio control functions may
include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation,
encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some
embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband
circuitry 204 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding,
or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some
embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry
204 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo,
Viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder
functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and
encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and
may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.
In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may include one or
more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 204F. The audio DSP(s)
204F may include elements for compression/decompression and echo
cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in
other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be
suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed
on a same circuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments,
some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry
204 and the application circuitry 202 may be implemented together
such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).
In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may provide for
communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For
example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may
support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio
access network (EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area
networks (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless
personal area network (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband
circuitry 204 is configured to support radio communications of more
than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode
baseband circuitry.
RF circuitry 206 may enable communication with wireless networks
using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid
medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 may include
switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication
with the wireless network. RF circuitry 206 may include a receive
signal path which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals
received from the FEM circuitry 208 and provide baseband signals to
the baseband circuitry 204. RF circuitry 206 may also include a
transmit signal path which may include circuitry to up-convert
baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 204 and provide
RF output signals to the FEM circuitry 208 for transmission.
In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry
206 may include mixer circuitry 206a, amplifier circuitry 206b and
filter circuitry 206c. In some embodiments, the transmit signal
path of the RF circuitry 206 may include filter circuitry 206c and
mixer circuitry 206a. RF circuitry 206 may also include synthesizer
circuitry 206d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer
circuitry 206a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal
path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive
signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received
from the FEM circuitry 208 based on the synthesized frequency
provided by synthesizer circuitry 206d. The amplifier circuitry
206b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and
the filter circuitry 206c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or
band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from
the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals.
Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry
204 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output
baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although
this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry
206a of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers,
although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this
respect.
In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the transmit
signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals
based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer
circuitry 206d to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry
208. The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry
204 and may be filtered by filter circuitry 206c.
In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal
path and the mixer circuitry 206a of the transmit signal path may
include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature
downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments,
the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal path and the mixer
circuitry 206a of the transmit signal path may include two or more
mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image
rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the
receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 206a may be arranged
for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In
some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 206a of the receive signal
path and the mixer circuitry 206a of the transmit signal path may
be configured for super-heterodyne operation.
In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input
baseband signals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope
of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some
alternate embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input
baseband signals may be digital baseband signals. In these
alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 may include
analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter
(DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 204 may include a
digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry
206.
In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may be
provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the
scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.
In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 206d may be a
fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer,
although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this
respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable.
For example, synthesizer circuitry 206d may be a delta-sigma
synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a
phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.
The synthesizer circuitry 206d may be configured to synthesize an
output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 206a of the RF
circuitry 206 based on a frequency input and a divider control
input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 206d may be a
fractional N/N+1 synthesizer.
In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltage
controlled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement.
Divider control input may be provided by either the baseband
circuitry 204 or the applications processor 202 depending on the
desired output frequency. In some embodiments, a divider control
input (e.g., N) may be determined from a look-up table based on a
channel indicated by the applications processor 202.
Synthesizer circuitry 206d of the RF circuitry 206 may include a
divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase
accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus
divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase
accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured
to divide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a
carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example
embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay
elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop.
In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break
a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the
number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL
provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay
through the delay line is one VCO cycle.
In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 206d may be configured
to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in
other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the
carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times
the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature
generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the
carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to
each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO
frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 may
include an IQ/polar converter.
FEM circuitry 208 may include a receive signal path which may
include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from
one or more antennas 210, amplify the received signals and provide
the amplified versions of the received signals to the RF circuitry
206 for further processing. FEM circuitry 208 may also include a
transmit signal path which may include circuitry configured to
amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 206
for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 210. In
various embodiments, the amplification through the transmit or
receive signal paths may be done solely in the RF circuitry 206,
solely in the FEM 208, or in both the RF circuitry 206 and the FEM
208.
In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 208 may include a TX/RX
switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation.
The FEM circuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit
signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may
include an LNA to amplify received RF signals and provide the
amplified received RF signals as an output (e.g., to the RF
circuitry 206). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuitry 208
may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals
(e.g., provided by RF circuitry 206), and one or more filters to
generate RF signals for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or
more of the one or more antennas 210).
In some embodiments, the PMC 212 may manage power provided to the
baseband circuitry 204. In particular, the PMC 212 may control
power-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or
DC-to-DC conversion. The PMC 212 may often be included when the
device 200 is capable of being powered by a battery, for example,
when the device is included in a UE. The PMC 212 may increase the
power conversion efficiency while providing desirable
implementation size and heat dissipation characteristics.
FIG. 2 shows the PMC 212 coupled only with the baseband circuitry
204. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 212 may be additionally
or alternatively coupled with, and perform similar power management
operations for, other components such as, but not limited to,
application circuitry 202, RF circuitry 206, or FEM 208.
In some embodiments, the PMC 212 may control, or otherwise be part
of, various power saving mechanisms of the device 200. For example,
if the device 200 is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still
connected to the RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly,
then it may enter a state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode
(DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, the device
200 may power down for brief intervals of time and thus save
power.
If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of
time, then the device 200 may transition off to an RRC_Idle state,
where it disconnects from the network and does not perform
operations such as channel quality feedback, handover, etc. The
device 200 goes into a very low power state and it performs paging
where again it periodically wakes up to listen to the network and
then powers down again. The device 200 may not receive data in this
state. To receive data, a transition back to RRC_Connected state
will be implemented.
An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be
unavailable to the network for periods longer than a paging
interval (ranging from seconds to a few hours). During this time,
the device is totally unreachable to the network and may power down
completely. Any data sent during this time incurs a large delay and
it is assumed the delay is acceptable.
Processors of the application circuitry 202 and processors of the
baseband circuitry 204 may be used to execute elements of one or
more instances of a protocol stack. For example, processors of the
baseband circuitry 204, alone or in combination, may be used
execute Layer 3, Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while
processors of the application circuitry 204 may utilize data (e.g.,
packet data) received from these layers and further execute Layer 4
functionality (e.g., transmission communication protocol (TCP) and
user datagram protocol (UDP) layers). As referred to herein, Layer
3 may comprise a radio resource control (RRC) layer, described in
further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 2 may comprise a
medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC)
layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer,
described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 1
may comprise a physical (PHY) layer of a UE/RAN node, described in
further detail below.
FIG. 3 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry in
accordance with some embodiments. As discussed above, the baseband
circuitry 204 of FIG. 2 may comprise processors 204A-204E and a
memory 204G utilized by said processors. Each of the processors
204A-204E may include a memory interface, 304A-304E, respectively,
to send/receive data to/from the memory 204G.
The baseband circuitry 204 may further include one or more
interfaces to communicatively couple to other circuitries/devices,
such as a memory interface 312 (e.g., an interface to send/receive
data to/from memory external to the baseband circuitry 204), an
application circuitry interface 314 (e.g., an interface to
send/receive data to/from the application circuitry 202 of FIG. 2),
an RF circuitry interface 316 (e.g., an interface to send/receive
data to/from RF circuitry 206 of FIG. 2), a wireless hardware
connectivity interface 318 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data
to/from Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth.RTM.
components (e.g., Bluetooth.RTM. Low Energy), Wi-Fi.RTM.
components, and other communication components), and a power
management interface 320 (e.g., an interface to send/receive power
or control signals to/from the PMC 212).
FIG. 4 is an illustration of a control plane protocol stack in
accordance with some embodiments. In this embodiment, a control
plane 400 is shown as a communications protocol stack between the
UE 101 (or alternatively, the UE 102), the RAN node 111 (or
alternatively, the RAN node 112), and the MME 121.
The PHY layer 401 may transmit or receive information used by the
MAC layer 402 over one or more air interfaces. The PHY layer 401
may further perform link adaptation or adaptive modulation and
coding (AMC), power control, cell search (e.g., for initial
synchronization and handover purposes), and other measurements used
by higher layers, such as the RRC layer 405. The PHY layer 401 may
still further perform error detection on the transport channels,
forward error correction (FEC) coding/decoding of the transport
channels, modulation/demodulation of physical channels,
interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, and
Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna processing.
The MAC layer 402 may perform mapping between logical channels and
transport channels, multiplexing of MAC service data units (SDUs)
from one or more logical channels onto transport blocks (TB) to be
delivered to PHY via transport channels, de-multiplexing MAC SDUs
to one or more logical channels from transport blocks (TB)
delivered from the PHY via transport channels, multiplexing MAC
SDUs onto TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction
through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ), and logical channel
prioritization.
The RLC layer 403 may operate in a plurality of modes of operation,
including: Transparent Mode (TM), Unacknowledged Mode (UM), and
Acknowledged Mode (AM). The RLC layer 403 may execute transfer of
upper layer protocol data units (PDUs), error correction through
automatic repeat request (ARQ) for AM data transfers, and
concatenation, segmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs for UM and
AM data transfers. The RLC layer 403 may also execute
re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs for AM data transfers, reorder RLC
data PDUs for UM and AM data transfers, detect duplicate data for
UM and AM data transfers, discard RLC SDUs for UM and AM data
transfers, detect protocol errors for AM data transfers, and
perform RLC re-establishment.
The PDCP layer 404 may execute header compression and decompression
of IP data, maintain PDCP Sequence Numbers (SNs), perform
in-sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs at re-establishment of
lower layers, eliminate duplicates of lower layer SDUs at
re-establishment of lower layers for radio bearers mapped on RLC
AM, cipher and decipher control plane data, perform integrity
protection and integrity verification of control plane data,
control timer-based discard of data, and perform security
operations (e.g., ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection,
integrity verification, etc.).
The main services and functions of the RRC layer 405 may include
broadcast of system information (e.g., included in Master
Information Blocks (MIBs) or System Information Blocks (SIBs)
related to the non-access stratum (NAS)), broadcast of system
information related to the access stratum (AS), paging,
establishment, maintenance and release of an RRC connection between
the UE and E-UTRAN (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connection
establishment, RRC connection modification, and RRC connection
release), establishment, configuration, maintenance and release of
point to point Radio Bearers, security functions including key
management, inter radio access technology (RAT) mobility, and
measurement configuration for UE measurement reporting. Said MIBs
and SIBs may comprise one or more information elements (IEs), which
may each comprise individual data fields or data structures.
The UE 101 and the RAN node 111 may utilize a Uu interface (e.g.,
an LTE-Uu interface) to exchange control plane data via a protocol
stack comprising the PHY layer 401, the MAC layer 402, the RLC
layer 403, the PDCP layer 404, and the RRC layer 405.
The non-access stratum (NAS) protocols 406 form the highest stratum
of the control plane between the UE 101 and the MME 121. The NAS
protocols 406 support the mobility of the UE 101 and the session
management procedures to establish and maintain IP connectivity
between the UE 101 and the P-GW 123.
The S1 Application Protocol (S1-AP) layer 415 may support the
functions of the S1 interface and comprise Elementary Procedures
(EPs). An EP is a unit of interaction between the RAN node 111 and
the CN 120. The S1-AP layer services may comprise two groups:
UE-associated services and non UE-associated services. These
services perform functions including, but not limited to: E-UTRAN
Radio Access Bearer (E-RAB) management, UE capability indication,
mobility, NAS signaling transport, RAN Information Management
(RIM), and configuration transfer.
The Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) layer
(alternatively referred to as the SCTP/IP layer) 414 may ensure
reliable delivery of signaling messages between the RAN node 111
and the MME 121 based, in part, on the IP protocol, supported by
the IP layer 413. The L2 layer 412 and the L1 layer 411 may refer
to communication links (e.g., wired or wireless) used by the RAN
node and the MME to exchange information.
The RAN node 111 and the MME 121 may utilize an S1-MME interface to
exchange control plane data via a protocol stack comprising the L1
layer 411, the L2 layer 412, the IP layer 413, the SCTP layer 414,
and the S1-AP layer 415.
FIG. 5 is an illustration of a user plane protocol stack in
accordance with some embodiments. In this embodiment, a user plane
500 is shown as a communications protocol stack between the UE 101
(or alternatively, the UE 102), the RAN node 111 (or alternatively,
the RAN node 112), the S-GW 122, and the P-GW 123. The user plane
500 may utilize at least some of the same protocol layers as the
control plane 400. For example, the UE 101 and the RAN node 111 may
utilize a Uu interface (e.g., an LTE-Uu interface) to exchange user
plane data via a protocol stack comprising the PHY layer 401, the
MAC layer 402, the RLC layer 403, the PDCP layer 404.
The General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol for the
user plane (GTP-U) layer 504 may be used for carrying user data
within the GPRS core network and between the radio access network
and the core network. The user data transported can be packets in
any of IPv4, IPv6, or PPP formats, for example. The UDP and IP
security (UDP/IP) layer 503 may provide checksums for data
integrity, port numbers for addressing different functions at the
source and destination, and encryption and authentication on the
selected data flows. The RAN node 111 and the S-GW 122 may utilize
an S1-U interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stack
comprising the L1 layer 411, the L2 layer 412, the UDP/IP layer
503, and the GTP-U layer 504. The S-GW 122 and the P-GW 123 may
utilize an S5/S8a interface to exchange user plane data via a
protocol stack comprising the L1 layer 411, the L2 layer 412, the
UDP/IP layer 503, and the GTP-U layer 504. As discussed above with
respect to FIG. 4, NAS protocols support the mobility of the UE 101
and the session management procedures to establish and maintain IP
connectivity between the UE 101 and the P-GW 123.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to
some example embodiments, able to read instructions from a
machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a
non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one
or more of the methodologies discussed herein. Specifically, FIG. 6
shows a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 600
including one or more processors (or processor cores) 610, one or
more memory/storage devices 620, and one or more communication
resources 630, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a
bus 640. For embodiments where node virtualization (e.g., NFV) is
utilized, a hypervisor 602 may be executed to provide an execution
environment for one or more network slices/sub-slices to utilize
the hardware resources 600
The processors 610 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a
reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex
instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing
unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) such as a baseband
processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a
radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or
any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, a
processor 612 and a processor 614.
The memory/storage devices 620 may include main memory, disk
storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory/storage
devices 620 may include, but are not limited to any type of
volatile or non-volatile memory such as dynamic random access
memory (DRAM), static random-access memory (SRAM), erasable
programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable
programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Flash memory, solid-state
storage, etc.
The communication resources 630 may include interconnection or
network interface components or other suitable devices to
communicate with one or more peripheral devices 604 or one or more
databases 606 via a network 608. For example, the communication
resources 630 may include wired communication components (e.g., for
coupling via a Universal Serial Bus (USB)), cellular communication
components, NFC components, Bluetooth.RTM. components (e.g.,
Bluetooth.RTM. Low Energy), Wi-Fi.RTM. components, and other
communication components.
Instructions 650 may comprise software, a program, an application,
an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least
any of the processors 610 to perform any one or more of the
methodologies discussed herein. The instructions 650 may reside,
completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 610
(e.g., within the processor's cache memory), the memory/storage
devices 620, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any
portion of the instructions 650 may be transferred to the hardware
resources 800 from any combination of the peripheral devices 604 or
the databases 606. Accordingly, the memory of processors 610, the
memory/storage devices 620, the peripheral devices 604, and the
databases 606 are examples of computer-readable and
machine-readable media.
FIG. 7 illustrates wireless communication between a
transmission/reception point ("TRP") 704 and a user equipment
("UE") 101/102 in accordance with various embodiments. The TRP 704
may be part of, or controlled by, an access node ("AN") 706 of a
radio access network ("RAN"). The access node 706 may be referred
to as a base station ("BS"), NodeB, evolved NodeB ("eNB"), next
Generation NodeB ("gNB"), RAN node, Road Side Unit ("RSU"), and so
forth, and may comprise a ground station (e.g., a terrestrial
access point) or a satellite station providing coverage within a
geographic area (e.g., a cell). An RSU may refer to any
transportation infrastructure entity implemented in or by a
gNB/eNB/RAN node or a stationary (or relatively stationary) UE,
where an RSU implemented in or by a UE may be referred to as a
"UE-type RSU," and an RSU implemented in or by an eNB may be
referred to as an "eNB-type RSU".
In some embodiments, the RAN may be a next generation ("NG") radio
access network ("RAN"), in which case the TRP may be part of, or
controlled by, a gNB that communicates with the UE using a new
radio ("NR") access technology.
In the 5G new radio (NR) system, beam forming will be used at both
the Transmission Reception Point (TRP) side and the user equipment
(UE) side. Beam management is used to acquire and maintain TRP and
UE beams for communication. A beam management procedure may be
performed to determine an appropriate Transmit (Tx) beam to be
employed by the TRP 704 and Receiver (Rx) beam employed by the UE
101/102. For downlink, the beam management procedures may include
P-1, P-2 and P-3. P-1 is to obtain the initial TRP Transmit (Tx)
beam and UE Receiver (Rx) beam. P-2 is to enable the TRP Tx beam
refinement. For example, one UE Receiver (Rx) beam is fixed while
several TRP Tx beams are measured, and the TRP Tx beam with best
quality is selected. P-3 is to enable the UE Rx beam refinement.
For example, one TRP Tx beam is fixed while several UE Rx beam are
measured, and the UE Rx beam with best quality is selected. The
selected TRP Tx beam and UE Rx beam are then used for
communication. The reference signal for beam management may be a
Channel State Information-Reference signal (CSI-RS) or a
synchronization signal (SS) Block.
During P-1, P-2 and P-3 procedures, TRP sends the UE a specific
reference signal and the UE use the reference signal to measure the
radio link quality. After measurement, the UE may report to the TRP
which Tx beams are better for communications, and the reported
content may include the Tx beam index or beam pair link (BPL) index
and the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP). Considering the
large number of beams, the overhead for reporting beam state may be
high. In order to reduce this overhead, group based beam reporting
has been proposed. The UE may report several, e.g. two, Tx beams
which can be received simultaneously.
In order to reduce overhead, the UE may indicate the relationship
between two reporting instances, i.e. whether the Tx beams at the
two reporting instances can be received simultaneously. In this
way, more than two Tx beams may be reported.
In order to enable group based beam reporting, the TRP may provide
information about which Tx beams can be transmitted simultaneously.
This information may assist the UE in determining which Tx beams
can be received simultaneously.
For non-group based beam reporting, the TRP may also provide
information for Tx beam grouping. The TRP also configures the UE
with CSI-RS or synchronization signal (SS) Block as a reference
signal. Generally speaking, a wide beam will be deployed for SS
Block and a narrow beam is applied for CSI-RS. And SS Block beams
are Quasi-Co-Locationed (QCL) with CSI-RS beams. Since the CSI-RS
beams are narrow, the reported CSI-RS beams may face the same
direction, and, if blockage occurs, several reported CSI-RS beams
may fail at the same time. Thus for greater robustness, the UE may
report several CSI-RS beams that are Quasi-Co-Located with
different SS Block beams.
For uplink, beam management procedures U-1, U-2, and U-3, which are
similar to P-1, P-2 and P-3, may be included. U-1 is to obtain the
initial UE Transmit (Tx) beam and TRP Receiver (Rx) beam. U-2 is to
enable the TRP Rx beam refinement. U-3 is to enable the UE Tx beam
refinement. In these procedures, beam grouping may also be applied.
The UE may report the grouping information, i.e. which Tx beams are
from the same group (antenna panel). The TRP could create UE Tx
beams combination (Tx beam set), and signal the mapping of Tx beam
set ID with the UE Tx beams, and the UE Tx beam set ID could be
used for the purpose of uplink (UL) beam indication.
Hereinafter, TRP is described as a next Generation NodeB
("gNB").
Embodiments herein may disclose methods for beam grouping in NR.
The relationship between two reporting instances may be indicated,
i.e. whether the Tx beams at two reporting instances can be
received simultaneously. The gNB may provide information which Tx
beams can be transmitted simultaneously. The gNB may configure
CSI-RS or SS Block as reference signal for beam management. The SS
Block beam may be viewed as a group of associated CSI-RS beams. For
uplink, the UE may report UE Tx beam group information, and the gNB
may signal to the UE the mapping of Tx beam set with the UE Tx
beams.
<Downlink: Group Based Beam Reporting at Different Reporting
Instances>
Beam reporting is important for beam management. The UE may use the
reference signal, configured by the gNB, to measure the quality of
the radio link. Based on this report, the gNB will have the
up-to-date information on beam quality. However, due to the large
number of beams, the overhead for beam state reporting may be high.
Thus, to reduce the overhead, embodiments herein may include group
based beam reporting. A UE may report two Tx beams that can be
received simultaneously by the UE.
Assuming the number of reported Tx beams is two, the UE may report
Tx beams in different reporting instances if the UE reports more
than two Tx beams. The UE may use a one-bit indicator to indicate
the relationship of the Tx beams between two reporting instances,
for example, whether the Tx beams reported at different reporting
instances can be received simultaneously or not. The one-bit
indicator may be transmitted together with the first report or the
second report.
For example, a UE has two panels and each panel has dual
polarization. Thus in a first reporting instance, the UE may report
two Tx beams observed by the same panel with different
polarizations. And in the next reporting instance, the UE may
report two Tx beams observed by another panel. In this case, the UE
may use one bit to indicate that the reported Tx beams in the
different reporting instances can be received by the UE
simultaneously.
In another example, the UE reports four Tx beams, two Tx beams from
each panel. The UE may first report two Tx beams, one Tx beam from
each panel. And in the next reporting instance, the UE reports the
two remaining Tx beams. In this case, the UE may use one bit to
indicate the Tx beams reported in different reporting instances can
not be received simultaneously by the UE. And in the report, the
order in which the Tx beams are reported may implicitly carry
information. For example, if the first Tx beam is from the first
panel, and second Tx beam is from the second panel, the gNB will
recognize which Tx beams are observed by the same UE antenna panel
and can be received by the UE simultaneously.
In a third example, the UE reports two Tx beams observed by the
same panel in the first reporting instance, and the UE reports
another two Tx beams observed by the other panel in the next
reporting instance. In this case, the UE may use one bit to
indicate the Tx beams reported across different reporting instances
can be received simultaneously by the UE.
Alternatively, the gNB could configure whether the reported Tx
beams may be considered across different reporting instances. The
gNB could trigger the UE to report Tx beams from one panel and to
report Tx beams from the other panel in the next reporting
instance. Or the UE may report two Tx beams, one from each panel at
one reporting instance.
In some embodiments, the UE may use one bit to indicate whether the
Tx beams reported at different reporting instances can be received
simultaneously. Alternatively, the gNB may provide the UE with a
one-bit indicator for use in reporting whether Tx beams can be
received simultaneously or not across different reporting
instances.
<Downlink: gNB Tx Beam Grouping>
For group based beam reporting, the UE reports Tx beams that can be
received simultaneously. However, it is the gNB that determines
whether the Tx beams can be transmitted simultaneously. For
example, since two Tx beams cannot be sent from a particular gNB
antenna panel at the same time, beam grouping occurs on the gNB
side. FIG. 8 shows an example. In FIG. 8, the Tx beams transmitted
from gNB panel 1 form Tx beam Group 1 and the Tx beams transmitted
from gNB panel 2 form Tx beam Group 2. The gNB cannot transmit the
Tx beams in Group 1 simultaneously nor can it transmit the Tx beams
in Group 2 transmitted simultaneously. On the other hand, the gNB
can transmit a Tx beam in Group 1 and a Tx beam in Group 2
simultaneously.
Thus the gNB may provide information on which Tx beams can be
transmitted simultaneously, i.e. the gNB provides the UE with Tx
beam grouping information so that the UE may select proper Tx beams
to report.
For example, a tag may be added to each Tx beam, and those Tx beams
with the same tag form one group. And the gNB cannot transmit the
Tx beams in the same group simultaneously, but it can transmit Tx
beams across different groups simultaneously. The tag may be based
on the gNB antenna panel or antenna port.
Alternatively, the gNB Tx beam grouping may be based on CSI-RS
resource set, i.e. each CSI-RS resource set is a group of gNB Tx
beams. And while the gNB Tx beams within each set cannot be
transmitted simultaneously, Tx beams across different sets can be
sent at the same time.
In one embodiment, the gNB may deliver downlink Tx beam grouping
information to the UE by adding a tag to the Tx beam. The gNB does
not transmit Tx beams with the same group tag simultaneously but
may transmit the Tx beams with different group tags simultaneously.
Alternatively, the gNB may base Tx beam grouping on a CSI-RS
resource set, i.e. each CSI-RS resource set is group of Tx beams.
For example, when configuring the CSI-RS resource set, the gNB may
add one group index to each set. In still another option, the
determination as to whether the CSI-RS Resources in different
resource sets can be transmitted simultaneously or not may be
predefined.
<Downlink: Non-Group Based Beam Reporting>
For non-group based beam reporting, the UE reports several Tx beams
with higher radio link quality. The measurement of the radio link
quality is based on CSI-RS beam or SS Block beam. However, since
the CSI-RS beam is narrow, the Tx beams with higher radio link
quality may be close to each other. Thus if blockage occurs, all
the reported Tx beams may fail.
In one embodiment, the SS Block may be used for beam management
with L1-RSRP reporting. Since SS Block generally utilizes a wide
beam and SS Block is Quasi Co-Located with CSI-RS beams, the SS
Block beam may be considered to be an implicit grouping of CSI-RS
beams. FIG. 9 shows an example of the SS block beam and CSI-RS
beams. In FIG. 9, the left three CSI-RS beams are associated with
the left SS Block beam, and the middle three CSI-RS beams are
associated with the middle SS Block beam, and the right three
CSI-RS beams are associated with the right SS Block beam.
Thus when the UE reports Tx beams, it may report CSI-RS beams
associated with different SS Block beams. Thus the CSI-RS beams may
point in several diverse directions, thereby making the system more
robust.
In another embodiment, when the UE reports Tx beams via CSI-RS, the
UE may consider SS Block beams. The reported CSI-RS may have good
quality, i.e. the corresponding L1-RSRP may be higher than a
certain threshold. Furthermore, the reported CSI-RS beams may be
associated (Quasi Co-Located) with different SS Block beams (at
least two SS Block beams, if the CSI-RS beam quality being reported
are good enough). Thus, the reported CSI-RS beams will point in
significantly different directions. Whether the reporting takes SS
Block beam into account may be configured (turned on/off) by the
gNB.
In yet another embodiment, whether non-group based reporting at
time instance k and at time instance k-1 are to be simultaneously
reported or not can be pre-defined or configured by higher layer
signaling or downlink control information (DCI) or reported by the
UE with an explicit indicator. For example, an indicator can be
added in the DCI that is used to trigger beam reporting, where the
value 0 may indicate it is not necessary for reporting to include
the beams that can be simultaneously received by the UE, and the
value 1 may indicate that all the reporting beams in this time
instance and the beams in the prior time instance can be received
simultaneously by the UE.
<Uplink: UE Tx Beam Grouping and Beam Indication>
For uplink transmission, the UE may transmit multiple UE Tx beams
simultaneously for spatial multiplexing or diversity. However, in
the uplink, which UE Tx beam(s) are to be used depends on the
indication from the gNB.
For uplink, beam management procedures U-1, U-2 and U-3 may be
included. Signaling exchange may be used to perform beam management
procedures. The signaling can include control signaling for the
procedure and the decision after receiving the uplink beam
management reference signal, e.g. a sounding reference signal
(SRS).
During U-1 procedures, the gNB may acquire initial uplink (UL)
Tx/Rx beam pair information. The initial UL Tx/Rx beam pair
information may include information to identify a uplink (UL) Tx
beam and a UL Rx beam. Then the gNB may transmit to the UE downlink
control information (DCI) including an indication that indicates a
UL beam index. The DCI may be used to trigger transmission of a
sounding reference signal (SRS) from the UE. The indication may be,
for example, an SRS resource indicator (SRI) or any other type of
indicator that may serve as a basis for the election of a
particular UL beam by the UE.
During U-2 procedures, the UE may use one Tx beam for some
repetitions and the next generation NodeB (gNB) may perform Rx beam
sweeping. The UE may generate and send one or more instances of an
SRS based on the UL beam index. The gNB may refine the UL Rx beam
based on the received SRS.
During U-3 procedures, the gNB may use one Rx beam to receive
multiple repetitions with different Tx beams. Then control
signaling may indicate the particular link to the UE so that the UE
can update the corresponding reference signal received power (RSRP)
measurement. The gNB may refine the UL Tx beam based on the updated
RSRP.
When the UE reports to the gNB during the above mentioned
procedures, the UE may add a tag to each Tx beam during UE Tx beam
sweeping to indicate the group to which the Tx beam belongs. The
group tag information may be based on the UE antenna panel or
antenna port. While the UE cannot transmit the Tx beams within the
same group simultaneously, the Tx beams in different groups may be
transmitted simultaneously. After gNB performs a refinement
procedure, the gNB may select the proper UE Tx beam(s) for
simultaneous transmission. The uplink beam indication may be based
on SRS resource indicator (SRI). The UE may use one or multiple SRS
resources for SRS transmission, where the number of SRS resources
which can be configured to the UE for simultaneously transmission
in the same RBs is a UE capability.
In one embodiment, the UE may report UE Tx beams together with
group information. The group could be based on a UE antenna panel
or antenna port. While the UE may not be transmit the Tx beams
within the same group simultaneously, the Tx beams across different
groups may be transmitted simultaneously. After gNB performs
refinement procedure, the gNB could select proper UE Tx beam(s) for
simultaneous transmission.
Alternatively, the UE can transmit Tx beams without group
information. After refinement, the gNB sends the UE information
about which Tx beams have good quality. The UE then split the Tx
beams into different groups. Within one group, the Tx beams are
from different UE antenna panels. Thus the UE Tx beams within one
group may be transmitted simultaneously. Correspondingly, the UE Tx
beams in different groups cannot be transmitted simultaneously. The
UE may report the grouping information back to the gNB including
the group ID corresponding to UE Tx beams. The gNB may use the
group ID to indicate which UE Tx beams may be used.
For a non-group based operation, the uplink beam indication can be
based on the SRS resource indicator (SRI), e.g. the gNB send the
SRI to the UE and the UE selects the corresponding Tx beam.
Alternatively, explicit signaling may be used to reduce overhead.
After beam sweeping, the gNB select several UE Tx beams with good
quality and each Tx beam is mapped to one indicator or index. The
gNB may then signal the mapping explicitly to the UE and use the
indicator or index for beam indication purpose with reduced
overhead.
<CSI-RS Configuration>
When configuring channel state information (CSI)-reference signal
(RS) beams, the next generation NodeB (gNB) may also indicate the
Energy Per Resource Element (EPRE) for the CSI-RS resource. The
EPRE may be on the CSI-RS resource set basis or on the CSI-RS
resource basis. When the UE calculates layer 1 (L1)-Reference
Signal Received Power (RSRP), the corresponding EPRE may be taken
into account.
If the CSI-RS for beam management is configured with only one port,
two CSI-RS resources may be quasi co-located to achieve functioning
similar to two port CSI-RS.
When configuring the CSI-RS beams, the gNB may also indicate the
EPRE (Energy per Resource Element) for the CSI-RS resource. For
example, multiplexing two CSI-RS in the same OFDM symbol may result
in an EPRE for the two CSI-RS that is 3dB lower than in the case
with only one CSI-RS in the OFDM symbol. FIG. 10 shows an example
of the EPRE configuration. The left side of FIG. 10 illustrates the
situation in which only one CSI-RS is included within one OFDM
symbol. The right side of the figure illustrates the situation in
which two CSI-RSs are included within one OFDM symbol. Thus the
EPRE for the situation on the right is lower than that on the left.
In addition, the EPRE configuration may also be applied to the
synchronization signal (SS) Block.
The UE may take the EPRE into consideration when it calculates
L1-RSRP for beam reporting because the L1-RSRP results need to be
scaled based on the EPRE. In FIG. 10, if L1-RSRP is not scaled
based on the EPRE, the L1-RSRP results in the right situation might
be lower because of the multiplex of CSI-RS, thus the L1-RSRP
results will not reflect actual radio link quality. The beam
reporting may reflect more accurate radio link quality if a
different EPRE is configured for different CSI-RS or SS Block
beams.
In embodiments, the gNB may configure the EPRE for the CSI-RS beam.
The EPRE may be configured for each CSI-RS resource. Alternatively,
the EPRE may be configured on a CSI-RS resource set basis, e.g.,
the CSI-RS in the same resource set is configured with the same
EPRE setting. The different EPRE settings may also be applied to
different SS Block beams and the gNB may indicate the EPRE setting
for the SS block to the UE.
In embodiments, when the UE calculates the L1-RSRP for beam
reporting, the EPRE setting may be taken into account. The L1-RSRP
measurement results need to be scaled according to the different
EPRE setting in order to reflect actual radio link quality of the
different CSI-RS beams. In its beam report, the UE may identify
those beams with smallest pathloss or those beams with highest RSRP
with a baseline EPRE as "Top beams". Similarly when the UE
calculates the L1-RSRP for an SS block, the L1-RSRP may be scaled
according to the EPRE setting for a different SS block.
In embodiments, if a joint CSI-RS and SS block is used, the UE may
calculate the L1-RSRP based on the CSI-RS portion only or on the SS
block portion only or on the SS Block and the CSI-RS averaged
across the entire band. The EPRE setting also needs to be
considered in the L1-RSRP calculation. In one report, the reported
gNB transmission (Tx) beams may all be CSI-RS beams, all SS block
beams, or all joint CSI-RS and SS block beams.
For example, for a CSI-RS resource or a CSI-RS resource set, an
indicator of the EPRE boosting ratio can be included. Then the
L1-RSRP in the beam report may always be based on the case where
the EPRE boosting rate=0 dB. This arrangement allows the L1-RSRP to
be calculated by measured by the RSRP-EPRE boosting ratio.
For CSI-RS for beam management, if the CSI-RS is configured with
just one port, two CSI-RS resource could be quasi co-located in
order to achieve functioning similar to two port CSI-RS.
In embodiments, for a CSI-RS configuration with one port, two
CSI-RS may be quasi co-located in order to achieve functioning
similar to two port CSI-RS. Then each port may represent each
polarization of a beam. When reporting the beam state, the UE may
report one of the quasi co-located CSI-RS resources based on the
minimal or maximum or average RSRP from both CSI-RS resources. In
one example, if a UE is configured with 8 CSI-RS resources, and
every 2 CSI-RS resources are quasi co-located, the UE could report
the beam based on 4 beams in 8 CSI-RS resources.
The quasi co-loeation among multiple CSI-RS resources may be
configured by higher layer signaling or DCI and/or determined by
the CSI-RS resource index. For example, the higher layer may
configure the number of CSI-RS resources per beam N, then every N
CSI-RS resources may be considered to be quasi co-located.
The quasi co-located CSI-RS resources may always be multiplexed in
a Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) manner so that the UE is
able measure one beam at one time.
In some embodiments, the electronic device(s), network(s),
system(s), chip(s) or component(s), or portions or implementations
thereof, of any figure herein may be configured to perform one or
more processes, techniques, or methods as described herein, or
portions thereof.
In embodiments where the electronic device(s), or one or more
portions, implementations, or components thereof, of one or more of
FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and/or FIG. 6 is, implements, is incorporated into,
or is otherwise part of a UE, various circuitries may be utilized
to split transmission beams into different groups; report
information on the quality of transmission beams to the next
generation node (gNB); and indicate the relationship between two
reporting instances.
In embodiments where the electronic device(s), or one or more
portions, implementations, or components thereof, of one or more of
FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and/or FIG. 6 is, implements, is incorporated into,
or is otherwise part of a TRP or a gNB, various circuitries may be
utilized to indicate to a user equipment (UE) a transmission beam
to be used by the UE; deliver downlink transmission beams grouping
information to the UE; and perform a refinement procedure.
In some embodiments, the electronic device of FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and/or
FIG. 6 may be configured to perform one or more processes,
techniques, and/or mechanisms as described herein, or portions
thereof. One such process is depicted in FIG. 11. For example, the
process may include: splitting or causing to split uplink
transmission beams into different groups; and delivering or causing
to deliver uplink transmission beams together with a group
information to next generation node (gNB).
In some embodiments, the electronic device of FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and/or
FIG. 6 may be configured to perform one or more processes,
techniques, and/or mechanisms as described herein, or portions
thereof. One such process is depicted in FIG. 12. For example, the
process may include: splitting or causing to split downlink
transmission beams into different groups; reporting or causing to
report information on quality of downlink transmission beams to
next generation node (gNB); and indicating or causing to indicate
relationship between two reporting instances.
In some embodiments, the electronic device of FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and/or
FIG. 6 may be configured to perform one or more processes,
techniques, and/or methods as described herein, or portions
thereof. One such process is depicted in FIG. 13. For example, the
process may include: indicating or causing to indicate to a user
equipment (UE) a downlink transmission beam to be used by the UE;
delivering or causing to deliver downlink transmission beams
grouping information to the UE; and performing or causing to
perform refinement procedure.
EXAMPLES
Example 1 is an apparatus for a User Equipment (UE), comprising: a
radio frequency (RF) interface; and a processor configured to:
split uplink transmission beams into different groups; generate
uplink transmission beams together with group information for a
transmit signal path; and send the generated uplink transmission
beams to the RF interface.
In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein the group
information is based on a UE antenna panel or an antenna port for
simultaneous transmission.
In Example 3, the subject matter of Example 1 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein, for a
non-group based operation, the processor selects the uplink
transmission beams based on a sounding reference signal Resource
Indicator (SRI).
In Example 4, the subject matter of Example 1 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein, for a
non-group based operation, the processor selects the uplink
transmission beams based on an indicator or an index.
Example 5 is an apparatus for a User Equipment (UE), comprising: a
radio frequency (RF) interface; and a processor configured to:
split downlink transmission beams into different groups; generate
report information on quality of the downlink transmission beams
for a transmit signal path; and indicate a relationship between two
reporting instances.
In Example 6, the subject matter of Example 5 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein the
relationship between the two reporting instances is whether the
downlink transmission beams reported at different reporting
instances can be received simultaneously by the UE.
In Example 7, the subject matter of Example 5 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein the quality
of the downlink transmission beams is reported by a Channel State
Information-Reference signal (CSI-RS) or a synchronization signal
(SS) Block.
In Example 8, the subject matter of Example 5 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein group
information is reported together with downlink transmission beam
quality.
In Example 9, the subject matter of Example 5 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein the downlink
transmission beams within one group are from different UE antenna
panels.
In Example 10, the subject matter of Example 5 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein a one-bit
indicator is used to indicate whether the downlink transmission
beams reported at different reporting instances can be received
simultaneously by the UE.
In Example 11, the subject matter of Example 5 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein, for
non-group based reporting, the quality of transmission beams are
reported by Channel State Information-Reference signal (CSI-RS)
associated with different synchronization signal (SS) Block
beams.
In Example 12, the subject matter of Example 5 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein, for
non-group based reporting, the relationship between two reporting
instances is pre-defined or configured by higher layer signaling or
downlink control information (DCI) or reported by the UE with an
explicit indicator.
Example 13 is an apparatus for a gNB (next Generation Node B),
comprising: a memory interface; and a processor configured to:
indicate to a user equipment (UE) a downlink transmission beam to
be used by the UE; deliver downlink transmission beam grouping
information to the UE; and perform a beam refinement procedure.
In Example 14, the subject matter of Example 13 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein proper
downlink transmission beams are selected for simultaneous
transmission.
In Example 15, the subject matter of Example 13 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein the processor
is to further generate configuration data for the UE with a one-bit
indicator to indicate whether the UE is to report the transmission
beams.
In Example 16, the subject matter of Example 13 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein the downlink
transmission beam grouping information is based on a Channel State
Information-Reference signal (CSI-RS) resource set.
In Example 17, the subject matter of Example 13 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein a group tag
is added to the downlink transmission beams, wherein the gNB
transmit simultaneously only transmission beams having different
group tags.
Example 18 is an apparatus for a next Generation Node B (gNB),
comprising: a memory interface; and a processor configured to
generate configuration data for a User Equipment (UE) with one or
both of Channel State Information-Reference signal (CSI-RS) and
synchronization signal (SS) Block for beam management, wherein
Energy per Resource Element (EPRE) information is included when
configuring the CSI-RS or the SS Block.
In Example 19, the subject matter of Example 18 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein the ERPE
information is configured for each of the CSI-RS.
In Example 20, the subject matter of Example 18 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein the EPRE
information is configured on CSI-RS resource set basis and the
CSI-RS within the same set is configured with the same EPRE.
In Example 21, the subject matter of Example 18 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein a different
EPRE setting is applied to different SS Block beams and the gNB
indicates the EPRE setting for SS Block to the UE.
Example 22 is an apparatus for a User Equipment (UE), comprising: a
radio frequency (RF) interface; and a processor configured to
generate information on quality of the downlink transmission beams
for a transmit signal path, wherein the UE measures one or both of
Channel State Information-Reference signal (CSI-RS) beams and
synchronization signal (SS) Block beams and calculates L1-Reference
Signal Received Power (L1-RSRP) for beam reporting, and the L1-RSRP
is scaled based on Energy per Resource Element (EPRE)
information.
In Example 23, the subject matter of Example 22 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein if a joint
CSI-RS and SS block is used, the UE calculates the L1-RSRP based on
the CSI-RS part, or based on the SS block part, or based on the SS
Block and the CSI-RS.
In Example 24, the subject matter of Example 22 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein for a CSI-RS
configuration with one port, two CSI-RSs are quasi co-located.
In Example 25, the subject matter of Example 24 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein the UE
reports one of the quasi co-located CSI-RS resources based on the
minimal or maximum or average RSRP from both CSI-RS resources.
In Example 26, the subject matter of Example 24 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein the quasi
co-location (QCL) between two CSI-RS resources is configured by
higher layer signaling or downlink control information (DCI) or
determined by the CSI-RS resource index.
In Example 27, the subject matter of Example 24 or any of the
Examples described herein may further include wherein the quasi
co-located CSI-RS resource is mapped in Frequency Division
Multiplexing (FDM) manner.
The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides
illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive
or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed.
Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above
teachings or may be acquired from practice of various
embodiments.
* * * * *